"If you went (to Japan) today you would see rugby everywhere, which is not the normal case," Japan coach Eddie Jones told CNN's Alex Thomas.

"There's usually baseball, J-League soccer, then sumo ... rugby comes in eighth or ninth" in terms of popularity. "But probably at the moment we're batting two or three which is quite an elevation," Jones added.

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Ayumu Goromaru of Japan ceelbrates scoring the second try during the 2015 Rugby World Cup Pool B match between South Africa and Japan at the Brighton Community Stadium.

Japan had only ever won one Rugby World Cup match in 24 attempts prior to its match against South Africa, and that victory came way back in 1991 over fellow minnow Zimbabwe.

It lost its second group stage match against Scotland last week but the mood around the camp remains positive.

Hopes are high that it can win its remaining fixtures against Samoa and the United States and qualify for the knockout stages for the first time.

Showing off his Japanese language skills, New Zealand-born captain Michael Leitch had a message for those following his side's progress back home: "We're going to the quarterfinals, keep supporting us."

Watch Alex Thomas' full report on Japan's rugby heroes by playing the video at the top the page.